One of the main challenges in the fight against forced labour is its complexity, which requires collaborative, multi-party action by governments, businesses, international organisations, labour unions, NGOs, professional organisations, etc. to comprehensively address the issue. Although VINCI is a large company, its position in the value chain and its volume of activity in a given country or project is often limited, which can lessen its degree of local influence. Due to the inherent characteristics of the risk, in addition to those of the construction industry, VINCI strives to share its practices and challenges with the business community and the industry as a whole, to promote responsible recruitment and help create a virtuous ecosystem.
As part of the Building Responsibly initiative, whose principles include fighting against forced labour and promoting responsible recruitment practices, VINCI made a significant contribution to the policy brief on recruitment. In 2020, VINCI also published the first case study on its recruitment practices in Qatar (https://www.building-responsibly.org/s/Building-Responsibly-Case-on-Study-Principle-3-VINCI.pdf). Its purpose is to share practical applications in companies and information that can be useful to other businesses. This is an essential aspect of the initiative, whether for developing tools or facilitating dialogue with stakeholders.
Aware of the importance of raising awareness and training the next generation of engineers, VINCI collaborated with independent experts specialising in business and human rights to build a business case study for students. The case study contains a detailed examination of the risks of forced labour in Qatar and the measures implemented by QDVC. It has been made available to a large number of universities, in several countries, as well as the Conférence des Grandes Écoles in France and the Business and Human Rights Teaching Forum. It continued to be used in 2022.
As a member of the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, VINCI supports the Employer Pays Principle and regularly provides testimonials at conferences, seminars and meetings hosted by other companies, international organisations, NGOs, public authorities, chambers of commerce and professional associations around the world.
VINCI is also an active member of Business for Inclusive Growth’s (B4IG) working group for advancing human rights and fighting forced labour. One focus of the working group is to share common tools to identify and mitigate the risks faced by temporary workers in supply chains. These tools include pre-qualification questionnaires for temporary employment agencies and human rights assessment guidance. A second working group was created to enhance due diligence measures in member companies for the responsible recruitment of migrant workers in Gulf countries. It aims to replicate, in the United Arab Emirates, the pilot project run by VINCI and the ILO Project Office in Qatar.
VINCI’s environmental issues are managed at the Group’s highest level of responsibility by the Board of Directors’ Strategy and CSR Committee, which ensures their integration into the Group’s strategy. In 2019, awareness of the climate emergency and the environment became more acute, leading to the definition of a new environmental ambition involving all VINCI entities for the 2020-2030 period. This ambition targets three areas, aligning with the key challenges faced by the Group’s businesses: climate change, the circular economy and the preservation of natural environments. The Environment Department coordinates the ambition across the Group’s entities and each year it reports twice to the Executive Committee and three times to the European Works Council. It chairs monthly meetings of the Environmental Committee, whose members are the environmental managers and directors of the Group’s business lines, and coordinates the environmental network of more than 800 correspondents.
On 6 November 2020, Xavier Huillard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VINCI, and Roberto Migliardi, Secretary of VINCI’s European Works Council, signed VINCI’s Environmental Guidelines (https://www.vinci.com/publi/manifeste/dir-env-2020-11-en.pdf). This document provides a framework for reducing environmental impacts and risks associated with the Group’s activities. It applies to all Group companies and all subsidiaries are responsible for ensuring that appropriate actions are also taken by subcontractors and joint contractors throughout projects.
The Group’s Environment Department shapes the environmental component of the duty of vigilance plan, based on the environmental goals shared by VINCI’s business lines and entities for the three targeted areas. VINCI’s environmental ambition extends the environmental actions of VINCI companies beyond compliance with the regulatory requirements of the countries in which they operate.
With regard to the environment, measures to identify and prevent risks are closely tied to the operational context of companies, their activities and the vulnerability of the surrounding area. The Group’s environmental policy is translated into operational guidelines in each of its business lines. Each business line establishes a road map taking into account the specific nature of its activities and regions, with the aim to drive continuous improvement. In subsidiaries, chief executives and senior management are in charge of ensuring regulatory compliance and the implementation of risk prevention procedures in their operational scope, taking into account their specific activities and challenges. They are assisted by the network of environmental correspondents, who provide environmental expertise. As Cobra IS joined the Group in December 2021, this business line will be included in VINCI’s environmental reporting in 2023.
